Chapter 38: 30k miles to Find a Dragon (III)

Ten days later…

As twilight approached, a snowcat traversed across a vast plain. The sun sank below the horizon, and darkness quickly settled over the land. At the same time, the speed of the snowcat gradually slowed. After traveling for some distance, it finally stopped, and Pablo, who served as both driver and handyman, called out from outside.

“We should camp here tonight.”

“That sounds good.”

Once the carriage came to a complete halt, Louis hopped down with satisfaction, watching Pablo immediately begin setting up camp.

I couldn’t have picked a better guardian.

Having spent his entire life on the Winter Continent, Pablo was quite familiar with its geography. He was also handy and could fix any issues with the carriage himself, cook meals, and hunt game effortlessly. Today was no different.

“I’ll prepare dinner now.” In no time at all, Pablo set up camp, lit a fire, and started cooking the animal he’d caught earlier.

Sizzle…

The five rabbits he had snared during their journey were roasting nicely over the flames.

“Wow…”

“Whoa-whoa-whoa…”

The twins had woken up by this point and sat cross-legged near the fire, watching the meat intently.

“When will it be done, munchkin?”

“How much longer?”

“It’s almost ready.”

At their urging, Pablo took out salt and pepper from his pocket to season the rabbit meat. The savory aroma made their mouths water.

Louis and the twins’ regular diet consisted of elixirs. They had to consume these potions until they matured into adult dragons. To them, ordinary food was merely a snack. However, lately, the twins seemed to be developing quite a taste for it.

Louis chuckled softly.

When you think about it, even though we call them “elixirs,” they’re essentially health supplements…

Something that’s good for your body and tastes delicious? It was like having one’s cake and eating it too. Once exposed to regular food with added flavorings, the elixirs were now seen as mere nutritional supplements.

“All right, it’s done.” Pablo handed each twin a well-cooked rabbit carcass, which they quickly snatched with their tiny hands.

Hee-hee!

Their mouths smeared with soot as they devoured the meat.

“You should eat too, Louis.”

“Thank you.” As Louis reached for his share of the rabbit…

“Huh?” Louis turned toward the darkness.

Puzzled by Louis’s reaction, Pablo asked, “What is it?”

“I sense something coming.”

Ever since the absurd surprise attack from the Blood Axe bandits, Louis had been keeping his perception open at all times. Something was now catching his attention.

“A monster?”

Pablo picked up his war hammer from where he had set it down nearby. Snow horses were sensitive to energy fluctuations, so Louis and the twins had to suppress their unique dragon aura while riding them. This often resulted in monster attacks, which invariably meant more work for Pablo.

Seeing Pablo’s grim expression, Louis shook his head. “No, it’s a human. Alone. They’re still quite far away…about five hundred meters or so, but they’re heading this way…”

Louis’s words left Pablo awestruck.

As expected of a dragon…

Despite being a tier-3 warrior himself, Pablo could not detect what Louis sensed with ease, even at such a distance. Having experienced similar situations many times before, Pablo fully trusted Louis’s perception.

After relaying this information to Pablo, Louis sat down next to the twins and casually ate some rabbit meat. Seeing him so relaxed, Pablo also put down his hammer and started eating, though he kept it within reach just in case.

Not long after, as the twins finished their meal and Pablo began on his second helping…

Stomp, stomp.

Footsteps echoed from the darkness.

Everyone’s eyes turned toward the sound, and Fin quickly hid inside Louis’s clothes.

“Who goes there?!” Pablo raised his hammer, acting as if he’d only just noticed something amiss. The metal head glinted orange under the campfire light.

A figure clad in a flowing black robe emerged from the shadows. They paused upon taking in the scene around the fire.

A voice emerged from beneath the robe. “No need to be so guarded.” The figure stepped closer to the fire and pulled back their hood, revealing a young man with blond hair.

He took in Pablo’s wariness as well as the three children nearby and gave them a slight bow.

“I’m just a traveler passing through this area. I apologize for intruding, but seeing your fire, I couldn’t help myself. May I please borrow some warmth and light?”

Pablo scanned the self-proclaimed traveler from head to toe. His robe was worn from a long journey, yet his face, hands, and clothes peeking out from under it were quite clean. He didn’t look like someone who had been traveling extensively, and he seemed particularly trustworthy at first glance.

The traveler sighed softly under Pablo’s suspicious gaze. “My name is Jacob Trujan. I’m a silver-rank mercenary.” As he spoke, he produced a silver badge from within his robes.

As he spoke, Jacob took out a silver badge from his inner pocket to verify his identity, but Pablo remained firm.

“I’m sorry, sir. But we have three children with us…”

Pablo would be at a disadvantage if anything happened, as he’d need to protect the kids. Understanding this, Jacob nodded awkwardly.

“Oh… I understand. Apologies for disturbing you so late. Well then, I’ll be on my way…”

Just as Jacob was about to leave, Louis became lost in thought.

Jacob Trujan?

The name struck him oddly, and it felt quite familiar.

Have I heard that name before?

Lightning struck inside Louis’s head as realization dawned on him.

Trujan… Wait! Trujan?!

The name Jacob wasn’t familiar to Louis; it was his surname, Trujan, that struck him as odd.

Louis urgently sent Pablo a message using holy magic.

[Grab him!]

…?

Pablo looked at Louis quizzically.

Louis tried again.

[I said, grab Jacob Trujan!]

“Oh…!” Finally comprehending what Louis meant, Pablo hastily called out, “H-hold on, please!”

“What?” Jacob turned around after taking only two steps away from them.

As Jacob eyed Pablo questioningly, Pablo cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Ahem… Since you don’t seem like such a bad person…why don’t you stay for a day or so?”

“Oh… Thank you!” Jacob beamed with gratitude as he approached them, oblivious to the piercing gaze fixed on him.

Look at this.

Seeing Jacob’s radiant smile, Louis’s lips curled slightly. The only Trujan Louis knew wasn’t Jacob but rather a woman.

Lavina Trujan.

She was both the master of the frenzied beasts and a prodigious druid. In the original story, she would later join the party of heroes who defeated Genelocer, the Dragon King.

With this knowledge, Louis stared intently at Jacob as he neared the campfire.

Jacob noticed Louis’s gaze and smiled slightly. “What’s up?”

“You’re alone?”

“What?”

“I mean, you don’t have any companions?”

“Oh, uh… Y-yes, I came here by myself.”

“Wow! You must be quite skilled to travel solo like this!”

“Ha-ha! That’s right!” Jacob preened at Louis’s compliment.

He chuckled and added, “Although technically, I’m not completely alone…”

“What do you mean?”

“What is it?”

“What’s going on?”

Before they knew it, the twins had positioned themselves on either side of Louis, their eyes wide with curiosity as they stared at Jacob. Their innocent gazes brought an even bigger smile to his face.

“Ha-ha-ha. Well, you see…” Jacob pursed his lips and let out a long whistle.

At that moment, Louis distinctly felt something.

It’s psychic attribute magic.

Jacob’s whistle contained faint traces of psychic mana.

Whiiiiiist!

The piercing sound echoed through the night sky, and something swiftly descended from above.

Whoosh, whoosh!

A massive creature flapped its wings, causing the campfire to flicker. Emerging under the light was an enormous bird with three pairs of wings standing over ten feet tall. It was a huge eagle with long, dark crimson tail feathers.

As soon as this formidable predator appeared, Pablo instinctively reached for his hammer, but Jacob waved him off.

“It’s all right. This is my familiar.”

However, Pablo remained on high alert because he knew exactly what kind of creature they were dealing with.

“…Isn’t that a six-winged blood eagle? How did you manage to tame it…?”

A six-winged blood eagle was not technically classified as a monster, but once fully grown, they were powerful enough to take on wyverns one-on-one. As indicated by its name, this creature was also ferocious and predatory. Judging by the size of the bird before them, this particular specimen appeared to be fully matured, making Pablo understandably cautious around it.

Jacob smiled reassuringly at Pablo’s concern. “It’s fine. I’ve raised him since he was a hatchling, so there’s no need to worry. He follows my commands very well, and I guarantee he won’t attack unless provoked.”

”…Are you a druid?”

“Yes,” Jacob confirmed Pablo’s question.

Druids were practitioners of holy magic who used their spiritual attribute power to tame beasts or even higher beings. Louis’s eyes lit up as Jacob acknowledged his lineage.

It seems like it might be true.

A druid named Trujan. One coincidence could be dismissed, but now two pieces fit together perfectly.

If this man truly is the ancestor of Lavina Trujan…

They couldn’t let him leave just yet. In the future, Lavina Trujan posed a potential threat to Genelocer’s existence.

Although many things had changed due to Louis’s possession of Louis, it was best to eliminate potential threats as soon as possible.

Louis looked at Jacob with a serious expression and asked, “Mr. Trujan.”

“Yes? What’s up?”

“Are you married?”

Caught off guard by Louis’s unexpected question, Jacob hesitated before answering.

“M-married? Not yet.”

“What about a girlfriend?”

“I do have…a fiancée.”

“So no kids then?”

“No, not that I know…of?”

“Do you have any siblings, older or younger?”

“I’m an only child…”

“Is there anyone else with the last name Trujan? Maybe distant relatives?”

“U-um… As far as I know, only my father and I share this surname.”

“Uh… yes.”

“Why do you suddenly ask…?”

“Hehe, just curious.”

”…?” Louis deflected Jacob’s probing with his cute laugh, but beneath his bright exterior, his thoughts were dark.

‘What should I do about this guy?’

Jacob could potentially be a future threat, so Louis considered various ways to eliminate him. The best method was either killing Jacob or…

‘Make him sterile?’

If Jacob couldn’t have children, then Lavina of the future wouldn’t be born. Moreover, it seemed Jacob had no siblings or distant relatives. Was Louis’ murderous intent reaching Jacob?

“Hrmmph. It’s cold.” Feeling inexplicable chills, Jacob shivered and moved closer to the campfire.